Abstract
Alcoholic fermentation in wines is a complex process that is hard to model and can vary according to many different parameters. Temperature is a key parameter throughout the fermentation process that must be controlled to avoid quality problems or even interruptions in fermentation.
In industrial facilities temperature is controlled by means of low-temperature fluids, based on pre-established settings or the experience of the oenologist in each case. In industrial wine-making, information is not generally available on the energy involved at each moment of the fermentation process or on the amount of energy actually needed to guide the process through the proper settings.
This paper seeks to establish a method for conducting energy analyses of the must fermentation process, so as to learn how much energy is actually required by the process and what its cooling needs are. This enables decisions to be made with a view to keeping the process within the settings required and determining how much energy is needed for that purpose. Once these points have been determined, benchmarks can be established with which the energy actually used in the process can be compared to determine how efficient the process is.
Moreover, the information compiled can help oenologists to make decisions during the fermentation process and prevent unwanted developments in the product. Once fermentation is completed it can also help them to analyze the process variables applied to obtain the product, thus making it easier to reproduce the same conditions with a view to achieving continuous improvement in products.
- ©2015 by the American Society for Enology and Viticulture
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